Return bend



Jan. 21, 1936. r ugimc I 2,028,467

RETURN BEND Patented Jan. 21, 1936 2,028467 RETURN BEND Henry E. Muchnic, 'Atchison, Kama, assignor to The Locomotive Finished Material Company, Atchison, Kana, a corporation of Kansas Application January 17,1935, Serial No. 2,189 i 5 Claims." (01. 285 -20) My invention relates to return bends for oil stills and the like and pertains more especially to a sectional return bend of the stream line' type involving separable housings in whichthe 5 ends of the tubes are secured and whereby the return bend section is held in position'and maintained in fluid relation with the tube orpipe ends through proper manipulation of" regulable mean carried by the housings.

The invention has for its object the provision of means whereby the separable housings are maintained in'proper cooperating relation and at the same time permitted a predetermined degree of independent movement laterally either contact between adjacent housings, so as to protoward or away from each other, without actual vide for any slight variations that may occur in the distance between center to center of adjacently arranged pipe or tube sections.

The invention provides an adjustable coupling between substantially parallel pipes or tubes which can be made pressure tight regardless of any small variations in the tube centers and in the center to center dimension of the -U-bend section.

The invention, more specifically stated, involves a separate housing section for each pipe or tube end, which is also adapted toreceive one end of the U-bend section; with the adjacently disposed faces of the housings formed to receive means of predetermined type adapted: to cooperate with said housing formations to limit the lateral movement of the housings with their attached pipe ends in conjunction with means 35 whereby improper longitudinal movement of the respective pipesor tubes will be prevented and the housings clamped in their proper positions.

The above enumerated objects and'the advantages inherent in the invention will all be more readily comprehended from the following detailed description of the-accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of my invention wherein one of the return bend housings and a portion of the bend proper are in section while the other housing and end of the bend proper are in plan. 4

Figure 2 is a sectional'view taken substantially on the onset line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

As heretofore stated, my invention relates more especially to return bends for oil stills wherein the pipes of the' stills are arranged in tiers or vertically spaced rows and the ends of adja- 55 nection or U-bend adapted to present little or no resistanceto the flow of the oil; -a construction wherein the bend section may be readily removed to permit access to the interiors of the pipe sections for cleaning or otherwise when occasion requires. The invention in its more spe cific embodiment asexemplified in the drawing involves the housing sections I0; ll! of corresponding-and mating construction and each of suitable thickness as shown in Figure 1 to pro- 10 vide the pipe or tube receiving openings II- of predetermined internal circumference to permit the tube end to be forced into interlocking relation with the wall of the pening.

The other ends of the penings ll arepreierably shown provided with a flared orifice at I! adapted to'receive the taperedends l3 of the U-bend section It. a r 1 I Each housing section 10 on opposite sides .of theopenlngs II is provided with parallelly arranged mule ears or projections l5, l5 which are preferably transversely arcuate or conform with the marginal'or side. wall contour of the housing section; the outwardly projecting mule I ears l5, l5 being spaced apart sufllciently to receive an end of the U-'-bend section It therebe- I tween; and the mule ears ii of each housmg section! are transversely aligned with the flared cent pipes or tubes united by a stream line. conorifice I! of the opening ll.

Each mule ear or projection I5 is provided adjacent its outer end with a suitable opening as at l6- adapted to receive one of the ends of a yoke member H, as shown at the right in Figures 1 and 2-; and the enlarged center portions of these yokemembers I1 are provided with tapped openings therethrough to receive the threaded set screws Ill.

The U-bend at each end on the outer surface is preferably provided with enlargement or boss l9 having a countersunk seat for the end of the set-screw l8.v

In arranging" the banks or tiers of pipes or tubes in horizontal and vertical rows and in the casting or fabrication of the U-bends there frequently are small variations in thetube centers and in the center to center dimension of the U-bend ends. In order to compensate for such variations I have provided the two separable housing sections l0, 10, whose opposing faces are each provided with a dove-tafl slot 20 extending entirely through the housing section as shown in Figure l, with the narrow open side of-the slot arranged on the outer face or side of the housing section as shown in Figure 2.

The matching slots 29, 20 are then brought on.

mined amount of lateral adjustment adapted to t of the opening ll.

into open side to side relation to receive a double dove-tailed key 2| which is inserted endwisely either from the upper or the lower side of the combined housing as viewed in Figure 1. The key member 2| is preferably made oftransverse dimensions slightlyless than the transverse dimensions of the combined or double dove-tailed slot 20.

This permits the two housing sections to move laterally toward or away from each other a predetermined extent, the double dove-tail key 2|.

maintaining proper associated relation between the housing sections; at-the same time the play or clearance between the walls .of the slots in the housing sections and the key Z I is such that the housing sections cannot contact with each other along the median line of the structure. With this relation between the key and the slots, it is apparent that the housing sections with their respective tube ends are capable of a predeterany small degree of variations that may exist in the tube centers and in the center to center dimensions of the ends of the U-ben'd.

The body portion of the double dove-tail key 2| is of length slightly less than the thickness of the housing sections where they are provided with the slots 20, 20; and the opposite ends of the key are each provided with a threaded stud or pin portion 22 which extends beyond the walls of the hoiising sections. The threaded ends or pin portions 22 are each shown provided with a relatively large washer 23 which is adapted to overlap the adjacent portions of the two housing sec tions, as shown inFigure 2.

After the washers 23 have been put into place on the ends of the key member 2|, a nut 24 is then screwed onto each threaded end or pin; the nuts being screwed lengthwisely of the ends or pinportions 22 until they firmly hold the washers 23, 23- in clamping relation with the hausing sections.

The washers 23, 23, through the action of the nuts 24, will maintain the proper alignment of the housing sections with each other and at the sametime yieldingly clamp the housing sections with their allied tube ends in place. I

The matching sides of the housing sections are. positioned so that the key member 2| may be endwisely inserted into the matching slots 20, 20; the ends of the key member being provided with the washers Z3 and nuts 24; the latter being merely loosely screwed onto the threaded ends or pins of the key member 2| so as to permit lateral adjustment of the housing sections. The return bend section I4 is then put into place by inserting. an endbetween the mule ears of a housing section and adjusting the housing section so that the end of the U-bend section 14 will register with and may be pressed into the beveled seat l2 After both ends of the return bend H are in place on their seats in the housing sections, the pressure applying means. namely The exemplificati'on of the'invention is believed to be the best embodiment, but modifications are are possible without, however, spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:--

1. In a return bend structure of the character described, a pair of housing sections, each apertured to receive an end of a U-bend section and the end of a tube, the juxtaposed sides of the sections being each provided with a dove-tailed slot; a double dove-tailed key member endwisely insertable in the matching slots of the housing sections, the cross sectional dimensions of said key being less than the corresponding dimensions of the slots so as to permit a. limited degree of departing from the independent movement of the housing sections relative to each other in any direction in a plane perpendicular to the tubes; and means for holding the U-bend section in contact with the housing sections.

2. In a return bend structure of the character described, a pair of housing sections, each apertured to receive an end of a U-bend section and the end of a tube, the juxtaposed sides of the housing sections being each provided with a dovetailed slot; a double dove-tailed key member insertable in the matching slots of adjacent housing sections, the cross sectional dimension of the key member in. a direction parallel with the adjacent faces of the housing sections being less than the corresponding dimension of the slots to permit a limited degree of independent movement of the housing sections relative to each other, while the transverse dimension of the key member in a direction toward the tube-centers is greater than the corresponding dimensions of the two slots and a spaced relation between the two housing sections maintained; and means for holding the U-ben'd section in place. I

3. In a return bend structure of the character described, a pair of housing sections, each apertured to receive an end of a U-bend section and the end of a tube; the juxtaposed sides of the sections being each provided with a dove-tailed slot; a double dove-tailed key member endwisely insertable in the matching slots of the housing sections, the cross sectional dimensions of said key being less than the corresponding dimensions of the slots so as to permit a limited degree of independent-movement of the housing sections relative to each other in any direction in a plane perpendicular to the tubes; means having adjustable relation with the key member and adapted to effect clamping engagement with the housing sections; and means for holding the U-bend section in contact with the housing sections.

4. In a return bend structure of the character described, a pair of housing sections, each apertured to receive an end of a U-bend section and the end of a tube; the juxtaposed sides of the housing sections being each provided 'with a dove-tailed slot extending from front to rear; a double dove-tailed key member insertable in the matching slots of adjacent housing sections, the transverse dimension of the key member in a direction parallel with the adjacent faces of the housing sections being less than the corresponding dimensions of the slots to permit a limited degree of independent movement of the housing sections, the ends of the key member being screw-threaded; means adapted to cooperate with the threaded ends of the key member, to efiect clamping engagement with the housing sections; and means for holding the U-bend section in place.

5. In a return bend structure of the character described, a pair of housing sections, each apertured to receive an end of a U-bend section ..nd the end of a tube, the housing sections to be ar* ranged in juxtaposed relation, and a, dovetail connection between the adjacent sides of the housing sections wherein the cross-sectional dimensions of the dove-tail element are less than the corresponding dimensions of the dove-tail groove whereby the .housingsare permitted a limited movement in any direction in a-piane perpendicular to the tubes.

vHENRY E. MUCHNIC. 

